1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for distribution and delivery of media content and other data to aircraft passengers and more particularly, to an integrated end-to-end distribution system that produces and delivers live content as well as pre-recorded and other content, to commercial passenger aircraft via a satellite and ground-based infrastructure as described in the Description of the Related Art.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a strong demand for live television content by passengers of commercial aircraft. The offering of live television to flying passengers has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,790,175 and 5,760,819, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. These patents describe systems that provide live in-flight television programming to aircraft passengers that is received from direct broadcast satellites (DBS) such as those used to provide the DIRECTV service. As described in these patents, the DBS signals are distributed to passengers using the aircraft""s in-seat video and audio distribution system, such as an APAX-150 distribution system made by Hughes-Avicom International. Thus, live signals as well as pre-recorded content from audio and video players may be provided to passengers via either overhead monitors or to individual inseat video monitors so that passengers can select from a number of available programs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,895 describes an architecture for an aircraft entertainment system that supports reception of satellite broadcasts from a DIRECTV direct broadcast satellite as well as other video programming from on-board storage devices without providing a tuner to each seat.
Although such patents disclose systems capable of delivering live television content to aircraft during flight, and providing such signals as an additional source of content for passengers, the prior art is deficient in several respects. First, lacking in the prior art is an integrated end-to-end system for providing xe2x80x98live televisionxe2x80x99 (wherein xe2x80x98live televisionxe2x80x99 in digital systems is not purely live since there is a delay in transmission between origin of signal and destination) and other data content to aircraft in accordance with various distribution criteria, such as airline, aircraft origin and destination, flight number, cabin class, and others. Second, the prior art fails to disclose an economically-viable system and method for providing an advertiser-supported distribution mechanism for live television and other data content to aircraft. Third, the prior art is not capable of providing global coverage which is seen as a necessary element for acceptance by the leading global airlines. These and other deficiencies in the prior art are addressed by the present invention, although the invention should not be construed as limited to a system and method that addresses all of the deficiencies simultaneously.
A primary aspect of the present invention is an improved system and method for distribution and delivery of media content and other data to aircraft. The improvement comprises a system that receives, aggregates, and distributes content on an addressable, targeted basis to commercial passenger aircraft via a satellite and ground-based bi-directional network. In one aspect of the invention, both live content, such as live television, and pre-recorded content is aggregated, tagged or addressed with identifying information and other access control parameters and distributed via satellite up-link and stationary wireless transmission to aircraft while either on the ground or in flight. As used herein, xe2x80x9clive contentxe2x80x9d refers to content, such as that originating from a broadcast television signal, that is digitally encoded and transmitted with a delay typical of a broadcast digital network, which may be several minutes. A centralized facility receives the content from multiple sources. The content is digitized, packetized, multiplexed, and addressed using one or more individual or group addresses corresponding to a plurality of distribution criteria. The digitized data is transmitted to aircraft using a combination of ground-based, wired transmission infrastructure, e.g., the public-switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet, and wireless transmission, including wireless microwave and satellite transmission to aircraft parked at terminal gates, and satellite up-link to aircraft in-flight. Distribution of content may be based on any combination of a plurality of criteria, including aircraft number, flight number, flight phase, airline, cabin class, language, date, time of day, flight origin, flight destination, passenger demographics, and other criteria. The invention thus provides an integrated end-to-end digital broadcast network tailored for airline passenger audiences and the necessary infrastructure for an economically viable, advertiser-supported airline entertainment network with live content capability.
In another aspect of the invention, a media server system with an on-board system controller is provided that receives the transmitted content, combines it with stored (e.g., on-board) content, which may include entertainment content as well as advertising, and generates a play-out schedule for the combined content that is specific to the server. The on-board system controller generates the final channel schedule play-out on the aircraft through on-board logic that accounts for a xe2x80x9cflight-centricxe2x80x9d time frame (i.e. time frame that takes into consideration the local departure and arrival times at the origin and destination, respectively) and other more immediate data obtained during the flight, such as, for example, delay in take-off, change in routing, etc.
In another aspect of the invention, interception and piracy of content by unauthorized receivers is prevented by encryption, with decryption controlled using a broadcast-type conditional access subsystem. In a system and method of the invention using such conditional access, distribution of content may be controlled to an aircraft at the server level as well as at sub-server levels such as the different zones that are used in some existing in flight entertainment (IFE) systems. In another aspect of the invention, conditional access may also be used to restrict access to data feeds (wired or wireless) comprising data content other than audio or video to passengers"" personal computers on board the aircraft.
In another aspect of the invention, an advertiser-supported system and method of distributing content to aircraft is disclosed wherein advertising content is multiplexed with news and entertainment content and distributed to aircraft on a targeted basis. In addition to receiving television and other content, an advertising manager sells advertising slots and receives advertisements from sponsors of the service. The advertising is similarly digitized, packetized, and multiplexed into the various content distribution feeds on an intelligent, targeted basis. Targeted advertising may be based on, e.g., aircraft destination, origination, airline, type of adjacent data content, cabin class, time of day, and other factors.
In addition to distribution of traditional media content, i.e., audio and video programming, the present invention also provides a system and method for delivery of software applications and other data to passengers"" personal computers, either in-flight or at a ground-based point of distribution, such as an airline terminal. In flight connectivity is provided through a combination of the on-board media server and in-flight telephone system, using either a wired or wireless connection to the PC, and ground-based connectivity is provided via wired or wireless modem connection to media servers located in terminals and other ground-based points of distribution.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a xe2x80x9cback channelxe2x80x9d is used to provide two-way connectivity between aircraft and other points to which content is distributed and the broadcast network. xe2x80x9cBack channelxe2x80x9d is used herein to refer to a communications path back from an aircraft (or other point of access to content) to a network operations center. The back channel provides report back of on-board system operation to the network to provide for corrective action in the event of failure to receive signal, audits of content play-out, as-run reconciliation of advertisements, and other data that may be used to administer content delivery to the aircraft. The back channel also provides connectivity to the passenger either through the aircraft""s entertainment system or the passenger""s personal computer to permit, for example, receipt of e-mails and other messages while in flight.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a smart card is provided to passengers to use for access control to content on-board on an individual passenger basis, i.e., where certain content is made available to all passengers and other content is available only to individual passengers, such as electronic mail and other personalized content, as well as content that is provided for payment.
In yet another aspect of the invention, by the use of intelligent segmentation of material transmitted to the aircraft from the centralized facility, each aircraft is able to verify it has received the entire segment of material prior to playing it out to the aircraft audience. This allows for a seamless user experience, even when the aircraft temporarily loses the incoming satellite signal due to aircraft location, orientation, or other interruption to the satellite communications link. As a result, the amount of information transmitted can be increased because the system can tolerate a lower overall communications link availability. Other benefits of the above include seamless transition from satellite to satellite, and the ability to categorize content seamless for use at a later time in a pre-defined playout routine which may have been customized for particular aircraft.
It should be noted that different embodiments of the invention may incorporate different combinations of the foregoing aspects of the invention, and that the invention should not be construed as limited to embodiments that include all of the different aspects.